[Dot inside string gives PDF encoding error]

I have a report that I use to generate a PDF.

My report .jrxml file contains a textField with a textFieldExpression. The expression is filled from a field which contains a string. Normally everything goes fine. But when the string contains a dot (.), the pdf gives an encoding error when I want to view it in a browser. (ERR_CONTENT_DECODING_FAILED)

The error also occurs when I type the text containing the dot insde the textFieldExpression, without using the field.

Here is a snippet of the jrxml containing the textField:

<textField>

<reportElement x="320" y="0" width="160" height="20" uuid="f3f2f70e-3138-4834-840c-a87253f1dc30"/>

<textFieldExpression><![CDATA[$F{currentValue}]]></textFieldExpression>

</textField>

 

So when currentValue is a string with a dot in it, I get the error.

What could be the problem?

 

[Html - like layout in pdf report]

Our application currently shows some static data on a Html page. The Html page contains a bunch of labels with values, using a Html table for doing the layout. Now our application needs to generate a PDF, showing the same data in a similar layout. We are using the JasperReports library for that, so that we can generate the PDF on the server. We are feeding Json to JasperReports together with a jrxml template to do the layout. 

I'm struggling with implementing the layout in my jrxml template. I know it's possible to use a table in JasperReports, but that requires a datasource, and my data is just some random bunch of labels with values. Is there any way to layout data in a jrxml template using a table-like layout, without using a datasource?

Any help is greatly appreciated!